The Cursed Prince

"You lived in The Bay of White Whales? Ohh... What brought you all the way to Draec? "Emmelyn asked in a trembling voice.

She had no idea that in such a place far from home, she could meet somebody from her homeland. Her feelings for Mrs. Adler instantly became warmer.

The old woman put her tea on the floor and cast her glance around the hut. She then let out a sigh before answering Emmelyn's question.

"I came here to take care of my old and very sick sister," said Mrs. Adler. "I am indebted to her for taking care of me from childhood when our parents passed away. Unfortunately, the medicines I made couldn't help her, and she passed away last summer. Now I got stuck here."

"Oh ... My condolences for your sister's passing," Emmelyn said. She now understood why this hut looked so ordinary. Apparently, this was Mrs. Adler's sister's house. "Why didn't you come back to Wintermere immediately?"

Mrs. Adler shrugged. "I'm not doing well myself. I am afraid that if I forced myself to travel that far alone, I would never arrive. It will be a wasted journey."

"Oh, I see ..." Emmelyn nodded. She saw that Mrs. Adler looked indeed frail from the way she walked. She guessed that this woman was probably in her sixties and sickly too.

Emmelyn took two months of travel to reach the capital of the Draec kingdom, crossing ten small kingdoms in her journey. She could imagine for Mrs. Adler, it would take much longer.

"Yeah... after contemplating my options, I think it's better if I just stay here," Mrs. Adler added.

"Do you still have family in Wintermere?" asked Emmelyn again. "When I go back there, I'll pass your message on to them."

"Ah .. will you do that?" Mrs Adler's face lit up at once.

She was deep in thoughts for a while after Emmelyn offered to bring her message to Wintermere. The old woman finally got up from the floor and walked toward the several wooden chests beside the bed.

She took out a small ragdoll from one of the chests. With a smiling face, Mrs. Adler handed the doll into Emmelyn's hands. It was a very ordinary ragdoll, made from cheap leftover fabrics, but the way Mrs. Adler held it, it was clear that she considered it precious.

"Please give this doll to Loreina ..." Mrs. Adler looked nostalgic when she stared at the doll. "Loreina is a little girl who often came to visit me at home. She is the daughter of a fisherman in my village. You will find her playing on the beach. Everyone there knows Loreina. She is such a sweet, sweet girl."

"Oh ... alright. I'll bring it with me and give it to Loreina when I go to The Bay of White Whales," Emmelyn said, nodding. She kept the doll under her clothes and then took the wooden box containing the apple pie she had brought from the castle. 

"I also brought apple pie for you. Please accept this as a token of my apology," said Emmelyn.

She opened the wooden box and showed its contents to Mrs. Adler. The old woman pursed her lips with an expression of surprise but delight.

"Ahhh ... is this a Wintermere apple pie?" she asked with beaming eyes. "I haven't eaten it in a while."

Emmelyn nodded. "They have a full range of ingredients in the crown prince's castle, and I can have the cooks make the pies just the way I want them."

"Hmm ... this is delicious. Thank you," said Mrs. Adler after she took a slice of pie and enjoyed it. Her old, wrinkled face looked so delighted. 

"Grandma, you said that you were here to take care of your sick sister. Can you really heal people?" Emmelyn asked after a while. She decided to call Mrs. Adler 'Grandma' to feel closer to her. They were both from Wintermere and she had grown fond of this old witch.

Her chest was filled with warmth. She didn't know that it would feel this nice to meet someone from her homeland. Ahh, if she had known, she would have visited Mrs. Adler more often.

Having a conversation with Mrs. Adler over tea and pie was so much better than being cooped up in the castle and feeling bored.

Hmm ... maybe after Mars got home, Emmelyn could still come here. Didn't Mars say Emmelyn could go anywhere as long as she let him know?

There seemed to be no reason for Mars to forbid her from going out and meet 'friends'. Mrs. Adler was just an old woman, a village witch who was good with medicine. 

The old woman nodded. "That's right. When I was young, I worked as an assistant to a witch in Wintermere. She had two disciples who were quite powerful. She taught them how to cast spells. She only taught me skills of concocting medicine and divination."

"Oh ... So, the other two witches could cast spells?" asked Emmelyn in surprise. "What can they do with it?"

"They could cast all kinds of spells and curses..." said Mrs. Adler. "I once saw Gwynn, one of the witches cursed a fisherman into a whale for harassing her. Nobody dared to bother us after that incident."

"Oh wow...!" Emmelyn pressed her lips in shock. "They sound so scary."

Mrs. Adler chuckled at Emmelyn's question. "No. They were actually nice. However, if people messed with them, those people would pay a hefty price."

"So, what happened to those witches now?" Emmelyn asked again.

She was so interested in knowing more about those witches. She remembered that Mars was cursed by a witch. She wanted to know why witches could cast a curse on people and how to break those curses.

"Unfortunately, I haven't seen them for decades. We separated when they decided to cross the sea and went to Atlantea."

Emmelyn knew Atlantea was a continent across the ocean from Wintermere. She had traveled there for a year with her teacher as part of her training. When she returned, her family and the entire Wintermere palace were gone.

"I've been to Atlantea. It's huge," said Emmelyn. "It's going to be hard to find them unless you know exactly where they live."

"Well ... I've always lived in The Bay of White Whales. I've been there for decades, with a hope that one day, when they come back, they'll be able to find me. But they never came," said Mrs. Adler. with a sad countenance. She then took a deep breath. "Maybe they're dead now. I can't read their souls. Or, maybe our bond is no longer strong, so I cannot feel their presence anymore."

"Uhm .. by the way, you said, you are trained in medicine and you can see the future..." Emmelyn suddenly remembered the purpose of her coming to this hut. She wanted to know more about the old witch's prophecy and Mars' curse.

"That's right," said Mrs. Adler. "Are you here to ask about your future?"

Emmelyn nodded weakly. "You said I will become the cause of a great war. Do you have any idea when that war will happen?"

Mrs. Adler frowned and tapped her bony fingers on the pie box beside her. "Hmm ... unfortunately, I can't know for sure. I saw you stand in the middle of the flames, while a palace was burned, and behind you are two large army wearing different uniforms. They are fighting violently."

"Oh ..." Emmelyn pursed her lips. She could imagine the scene. It must be terrible. Why did she have to be involved between two armies that were at war? And why should they attack each other?

"Uhm ... did you see anything else, besides the fire and the two armies?" Emmelyn asked with a pounding chest.

"Hmm ... the first troop carried red and black flags and wear the same colors on their uniforms. The second army had silver and green."

"Oh..." Emmelyn tried to remember which kingdom had red and black or silver and green in their army. She couldn't remember any.

Draec had black and grey in their military uniforms. Emmelyn also had traveled through several kingdoms and did not see any kingdoms having such an army. "I don't know which army are those."

"Hmm ..." Mrs. Adler shrugged. "I can't see more than that."

"But .. there is a possibility that your vision isn't necessarily an event that will definitely happen in the future, right?" asked Emmelyn again. "It's just like a dream. Some dreams are omen and have special meaning to them, and some dreams are just that... dream. They mean nothing."

"It's up to you how you want to perceive this," said Mrs. Adler. Her face looked tired, and obviously, not in the mood to argue.

"Oh, I don't mean to doubt you ... It's just that I feel like I've never seen an army with the colors you described earlier, and I've traveled to many kingdoms."

Emmelyn finally decided not to extend the matter about the prophecy and shift the conversation to another topic. 

"Grandma, you also said that you know the witch who cast the curse on Mars ... Do you know why she cursed the prince?" asked Emmelyn again.

She had never asked Mars directly about this. She was worried that she would touch a sore point. Besides, she didn't want him to think Emmelyn cared about him.

As much as possible Emmelyn would keep her distance and not show Mars that she liked him. No way.

"The prince is cursed for the fault of his parents," said Mrs. Adler. 

"What??" Emmelyn was surprised to hear this revelation. So, the king and queen did something to offend the witch, and their son must pay for the price? "What did they do?"

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From the author:

Yeayy.. NovelFull is throwing a Valentine's Event. Please share or recommend this book for Valentine and I will throw 5 chapter mass release on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2021, to celebrate love with you!